I am not about to ask "What is the best way to run a BDC?" as I feel we all are pretty confident in each of our own beliefs that our way is the best way.
However, I am currently in a small battle and want to know of others' experiences with their BDC management.
Some dealers believe a BDC should be run like a telemarketing office with minimum-waged workers following an exact script and taking inbound sales calls and pounding outbound CSI calls with minimal rapport building. I have been asked to change the culture of my BDC to this type, but feel that my current incarnation of BDC far exceeds the results this telemarketing-BDC venture can provide.
In my current BDC, I have Customer Contact Reps with past experience in non-auto customer service departments and telemarketing companies. However, before joining the BDC, but had to cut their teeth on the showroom after selling cars for one year. Both have strong ties to CSI and understand the sales process which, in my estimation, makes the sales staff assisting the customers more accepting because they tend to be more qualified as prospects. I am struggling, though, explaining to some in my dealership that it is beneficial for someone to actually know cars when taking a car sales call. Opposed to reading from a car brochure, their time on the showroom seems to have made them more well-rounded than other BDC reps I've spoken to - and I feel that is our advantage.
Am I off the mark - can a telemarketer without auto experience offer the same quality of contact as that of someone who is more of a "relationship-builder" during sales calls?
Please let me know how you all maintain your BDC staff as well as how you feel their pay plans should be structured (with a range, if it isn't giving too much away).
For instance, I've been told my top Customer Contact Rep - generally responsible to bringing in an average of 130 appts = 60 or so sales per month is well-overpaid at $48k after all bonuses have been met. (Hope that isn't divulging too much) I would like to know details/ammunition/testimonials from you all that can either help me make my case or persuade me otherwise. I'm afraid if I malaciously comply with this newest directive, no matter how well I train new recruits, it will have a negative impact on sales volume, profit, CSI, and more. Any guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Interesting but why only a few people to handle Internet deals. When will dealers figure out that if they run their DEALERSHIP like an Internet department they will be treating everyone to the same level of customer service?

I have a quick question regarding BDC. I am very new at this and know nothing about BDC besides sitting in the office and calling people that just don't answer the phone. I can call 50 people with in an hour and on any giving day I will be probarly get 1 person to answer. The one's I called I email them out right after and then continue to do the same thing the following day. What is it that I am doing wrong? My boss keeps asking me if I have made any appointments, and honestly all I can say is I hardly talk to anyone. I'm wondering what is wrong, does anyone have an answer for me or any tips.

Hello Frank,
What I urge you to do is send a personalized email within 10 minutes of receiving a lead during on-hours. In the email, it should say "I'll be calling you shortly to confirm you've received this information you requested." Then, wait 5 minutes and call them. Tell them "the purpose of the call is solely to confirm your email wasn't caught in a spam folder, but while I have you on the phone, is test driving important to you?"
If you simply cannot get anyone to answer the phone, attempt calling from your cell. And take the time the customer placed the inquiry into consideration. For instance, if they called at 10am on one day, your next day call should be at 9:50am. More likely to catch them at their desk/home/etc. 60% of email inquiries never get a response back whatsoever. Consider looking them up on the networking sites (LinkedIn, Facebook) and get the name of their company. Call them where they work. When asked how you got the information, just say your CRM automatically gathers this data for you and you didn't know the customer didn't include it.
This little lie is okay.
Joe Webb

Here's a few ideas that might help. First, make sure your calling customers when it's convenient for them, not just you. If you're at work while they're at work and you're at home when they're at home, it's hard to get "ear-to-ear". Look at the times when the lead comes in to gauge when they might be available. If was 2 in the morning, I don't suggest calling them at 2am. For those, I try to rotate the calls from late afternoon (2-4) to early evening (5-7) to just before close. You can leave a message on the first call, but I wouldn't on the rest. If you leave a message consider: "Hi this is Frank from ABC motors. I have some great news, give me a call at 555-5555, talk to you soon!" This will drive them crazy and if nothing else, they may take your call the next time to see what the "great news" was. When they call back asking for the geat news and they will, it's game on. There's always rebates, incentives, sales, whatever. There's never a day in the dealership when there isn't something you can use. The best bet is to call within a few minutes of receiving the lead. Your prospect is still in shopping mode, near their computer and more likely to be surprised by the speed of the call and answer. Hope that helps.

60 deals a month = $48k would be underpaid in the Boston Market. My reps who do 60 deals a month make between $55-60k. You are on the right track having people who know the car business. There is nothing more frustrating for a sales consultant or sales manager than to have an uneducated rep send in a customer who is $10k upside down in their trade and wants to get into a new car with no money down or who wants to get out of a 36 month lease with 32 payments left and no money out of pocket. Every salesperson understands that you are going nowhere with these customers and you are causing the store unnecessary pain by blindly sending these customers in. The more they know about the car business, the better the experience will be for the customer. I don't think customers want to call car dealerships and talk to "Tammy the Time/Life Operator." They want to talk to someone who knows the cars as well as the ins and outs of the car business and can help them make an educated buying decision.

I agree with Steven that all of the reps should be certified in the lines they sell. We would never let a non-certified salesperson take an up but for some reason, many stores think it's okay to have non-certified reps being the first point of contact for the dealership. Makes no sense to me.

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